Performance Management Do's and Don'ts

Heidi Brundage, CPA, PCPS Project Manager, AICPA, presented "Performance Management Do's and Don'ts" at the recent Practitioners Symposium. Performance management is becoming increasingly important in team development and accountability. How effective is your firm in modeling these best practices?

Managing Partner Do's:

• Be a role model
• Link compensation to performance
• Support annual process training
• Learn about diversity among team members
• Encourage mentoring and soft skills training

Performance Champion Do's:

• Gain executive buy-in
• Review process periodically
• Communicate the process
• Tie performance plans to learning
• Offer process training
• Support those who counsel poor performers

Counselor Do's:

• Practice and prepare examples
• Understand competencies in the competency model
• Educate counselors on opportunities for growth
• Ask questions
• Balance good with bad
• Offer help in negative situations

Counselee Do's:

• Recap what you have done over the past year
• If successful, explain why
• Gather feedback from multiple sources
• If not successful, explain why and future plans to change
• Review goals in relation to actual